Kick, Push
by deator11
Summary: A story of healing, in which Kim and Jared do not share an orbit until fate offers a kick and push in the right direction. Updated weekly.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

Kick, Push

Kim slowly walked down the aisles of the corner store aimlessly grabbing items on the poorly written list in her hands. _Bread. Milk. Eggs. Butter. Soup. _The list was full of canned and nonperishable foods. She needed foods that were cheap and easy to make.

"Kimmy!" a small voice whispered as they tugged on her shirt.

"Yes Kyle?" she droned, reaching for another can of tomato soup.

"Do you think daddy will mind if we get the fancy macaroni?" she rolled her eyes with a smile and fondly patted her cousin's head. "What do you think Brady, should we sneak a box?"

Kyle turned to his older brother with a wide grin, two of his front teeth missing, while Brady sighed and pulled his little brother into the next isle. Kim simply ignored him as she continued searching for soups her family might eat. She loved her cousins-owed them her life, but Brady's moodiness was starting to really get on her nerves. It wasn't her fault they had to make this trip.

Soon enough, Kyle was racing back to her side with a box of macaroni with his favorite cartoon character on it. She smiled down at him and gently touched Brady's shoulder to acknowledge him as well. He sort of shrugged, it was probably the most she'd get from him tonight.

"Let's go home boys, I want to try out this special dinner before you dad gets home." she toned as she ushered Kyle towards the cashier.

Their walk home consisted of Kyle periodically stopping to look for worms, Brady shuffling his steps a few feet behind her with headphones in, and all three carrying the groceries into the family home. She let out a sigh. It was times like this her shoulders felt heavy from all the worry. It felt like she was 16 going on 40. She'd make dinner tonight, tuck Kyle into bed and nag Brady to finish his homework before the school week began.

It was the spring of her junior year of high school and the stress of passing college entrance exams and her classes were minor thoughts compared to the anxiety she had about her family changing their mind about her. The nagging, pressing wave of despair threatened to drown her when she allowed herself to think about her life now. She had been living with the Littlesea family since December.

Her lovely mother and Brady and Kyle's father were siblings. Chase Littlesea works in Port Angelos as the manager of an Italian restaurant. While he means well, he often spends his nights and weekends saving the day for his employees and guests rather than his family. His excuses range from being the sole provider for the family to straight denial that he works as much as he does. Kim never bothers to bring it up-Chase is the reason she can live with her cousins. Brady however, fights with his father about his workaholic ways consistently.

His wife, Lyla Littlesea, had been a primary school teacher at the school in Forks before she passed away. It's been four months since then, and four months since she'd moved in with her uncle and cousins. With Chase working nights all the time, Kim and Brady had become the de facto parents of Kyle-helping him with his school work and making sure there was food on the table. Kim knew he uncle meant to be around more often, but between Brady and her, it was easy for him to avoid coming home to his depressed family in lieu of working more shifts at the restaurant.

Kyle took the loss of his mother as well as could be expected by a 10-year-old. He flip-flopped back and forth between fighting with his classmates and teachers to try to accommodate every need of any adult in his life in order to feel safe and loved. He looked up to Brady and adored Kim, but missed his mom and dad the most. By the time Chase came from from his shifts at the restaurant, Kyle was often in bed asleep. He only saw his dad on the weekends, and for a child that craved parental love and consistency, the lack thereof was crushing.

Brady was resentful. His dad was never around and his mother was gone forever. Instead of playing baseball this spring, he spends his afternoons helping her take care of Kyle and the house. Instead of worrying about girls and his friends, he misses his mom and the joy their house used to have. It doesn't help that his body is rapidly changing into that of a man. Kim could empathize, puberty was hard for everyone.

And Kim? Well, she wasn't ready to talk about how much her life had changed in the past four months yet. It was much easier worrying about her cousins than reflecting about her own miserable feelings. Instead, she'd continue to spend her time taking care of her boys and trying to complete her junior year.

"So that's it?"

Jared sighed. All things considered, this conversation could have gone way worse than it currently was. He nodded, hoping that the less he spoke, the sooner this could be over. Emily promised muffins if he got home before Paul's shift.

Danielle sniffled, her eyes red and narrowed. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Good luck with whatever and whoever the fuck you do now. When you decide you want me back, remember to go fuck yourself instead."

_Breathe. _Jared shrugged, hoping the tremor that racked through his body was not obvious to anyone but him. He couldn't afford to blow up right now, not after three full days of control. He'd be back to square one if he lost it. Sam would be so disappointed. He took another breath and simply nodded.

She stormed off, and he let out a sigh of relief. He'd only dated Danielle for a few months. Their relationship had been fun and shallow. It felt like a lifetime ago that they had hung out, especially since he phased for the first time a little over two weeks ago. All he could truly remember about it was that the sex was good.

Sam had said it was for the best that the wolves stay single during this transition. The pack needed them more than their families or friends. Girlfriends would only complicate things. Jared shuddered, no one wanted to repeat the trauma of their Alpha's failed relationship with Leah and his imprint. Emily was a godsend, but the path to Sam and her happiness was less than pretty.

Standing up, Jared walked to the edge of the forest that surrounded Danielle's house and began to strip his clothes off. Time for muffins and maybe some PS4 with Paul until his shift tonight.

He'd have to go back to school tomorrow after missing two full weeks while Paul still got permission to miss a few more days. His mom had threatened to stop being Emily's hair stylist if Sam didn't order him back to school this week. She was worried he'd get too far behind in his classes. Emily, in full conspiracy with Jared's mother, begged Sam to believe the threat and protect her from losing the only hair stylist who could handle her scars. With his imprint worried, Sam had no problem using his alpha voice to send Jared back to high school a week earlier than planned. Paul thought it was hilarious. Jared not so much.


End file.
